1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for providing customer support services using a network based database, and more specifically, to an application that collects and stores customer, vendor and product data, accepts service calls from customers, and routes the calls to appropriate customer care centers. Access to the network is further controlled by a PIN and access number imparted to a customer via a credit/debit type card.
2. Description of Related Art
Without limiting the invention, its background is described in connection with customer support services which are rendered for and after the purchase of a good.
Most makers and vendors, or organizations, of distributed goods provide product support services after the product is purchased. Often a customer is charged a warranty premium, in addition to the purchase price of the good, in order for the customer to partake of the product support services. Such services are oftentimes a deciding factor for the potential customer""s purchasing decision. Thus, an organization""s capacity for efficient and effective customer and product support may impact its bottom line both in terms of sales, repeat business and/or patronage, and in maintaining effective customer support for a purchased product.
In a typical scenario, customer support requires that the organization expend both time and resources to maintain accessible updated product and customer information. Likewise, the consumer is often asked to remember product types and model numbers, date of sale, customer location and other information relating to a particular sales transaction. In short, providing effective customer support is often a tedious and time consuming process to both customer and organization.
Prior art systems and methods for vending and delivering customer service and support depend primarily on having the customer call into a product and/or customer care center or call center. Typically, a customer is asked to register a product with the organization and/or call center after the product purchase in order to receive support. Likewise, the customer is generally asked to repeat all the registration and product information upon future access to support. The integration of customer service calls with appropriate call centers has no theretofore been addressed in prior art systems. In addition, the process of manually or automatically routing customer service calls, based on product type and model and/or customer identification, to a correct one of many call centers, is not practiced by prior art systems.
A need therefore exists for a system and method wherein a customer can call into a single network and be speedily and automatically connected with a product specialist, or agent, without the customer having to remember an abundance of product related information. Likewise, resource expenditure by the vendor should be kept to a minimum. To this end, an universal application to maintain an information database used for integration of services with the product registration and delivery of customer support services would provide tremendous benefits to organizations and customers alike. Customers could acquire a credit/debit card, or support card, with the purchased product allowing the customer to obtain product and/or customer support from the organization, via call centers, while providing a revenue stream back to the call center and/or organization. By the use of a support card, the customer, now realizing the cost of customer service will forego unnecessary calls thereby freeing up call center resources to more quickly serve other callers and/or matters. In addition, the call center recoups a portion of the proceeds of the sale of such cards thereby generating a revenue stream that can be funneled back into the call center enhancing the same.
The present invention provides a system and method for permitting organizations and customers controlled access to call centers through an automated intelligent interactive voice response application within a switched network. The present invention can be utilized to collect warranty and product registration, measure entitlement, and collect and process information. In one embodiment, the present invention provides a vehicle for organizations to charge and receive revenue for their support services, which traditionally have been solely an expense.
An advantage of the present invention is that it supports a network-based applications that gives an organization the opportunity to improve the quantity and efficiency of services for merchandise purchased by the customer. In this regard, a network-based database provides access to information through applications responsible for maintaining and supporting this database. The database provides controlled access to call centers and for a specific product brand and/or model and/or customer identification.
Another advantage of the present invention is an automated interactive voice application used to acquire information, based on a set of predefined instructions, for a network based database, so that consumers of purchased goods can receive personalized support.
Another advantage of the present invention is at least one customer transaction database for storing a plurality of product, vendor and customer data. The customer transaction database is communicably linked to a customer support network via a first communications link. The database provides effective and timely information sharing.
Another advantage of the present invention is a support card platform. The platform is arranged within to process calls routed through a network by determining the appropriate care center for a particular customer and routing the call accordingly. The transaction processor works automatically, thereby shortening the connecting time between customer and customer support specialist.
Disclosed, in one embodiment, is a telecommunications network based system for accepting customer calls for product-related services and directing these calls to an appropriate call center. The system contains a customer support network and a customer transaction database for storing a plurality of product, vendor, and customer information including call routing data. The customer transaction database can be communicably linked to a customer support network via a first communications link. A transaction processor is arranged to process calls routed through the network. The transaction processor determines the appropriate care center for a particular customer based on the customer""s identification. The customer (and the product purchased thereby) is identified by a customer personal identification number provided to the customer with a support card. The customer identification number along with an access telephone number may be provided to the customer at the time of product purchase or may be acquired by the customer in a separate transaction from the purchase of the product.
These and other advantages of the invention will be understood by reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the attached drawings.